Ten Things You Can Do To Sell Yourself

People buy from people they Believe, Like and Trust.  Even in a challenging economy, all things being equal, you would choose to purchase from the person with whom you had the best relationship.  Quite frankly, people buy based on relationships even when others are offering a lower price.  When you develop trust between yourself and the buyer and they know that they can count on you delivering the value they expect, they will buy from you.  It is truly amazing, the number of sales made as the result of social interaction.  A day on the golf course is worth days of prospecting.  Building relationships is the most effective method of creating long-term sales opportunities.  Now, if all these statements are true, and I honestly believe they are, you should be selling yourself long before you open your mouth to sell your products or services.

Here are ten things you can do to sell yourself, thus creating the most successful environment for sales.

1. Focus your attention on the other person.  Selling is all about the buyer and yet salespeople attempt to put the focus on themselves.  The buyer believes they are the most important person in the world and in the world of sales, they are.  Talk about them and their interests.  Listen intently and ask for their perspective.  Put them on stage and let them perform.  Give them the opportunity to shine.  As a salesperson, your time to shine will come with the closing of the sales.  This is their time to be in the limelight.
2. Make the other person feel important.  The best method of allowing someone to feel important is to provide for them an opportunity to talk about themselves.  Encourage them to talk about those things that are of interest to them.  Don’t upstage their performance.  There are many things you could say to put yourself in focus, don’t.  Listen, encourage and enjoy the excitement they have discovered in talking about themselves.
3. Learn something about the other person that you can sincerely relate to.  The key work here is sincere.  People have the ability to sense sincerity.  Don’t sabotage your success by coming across as phony.  When you have discovered something you can relate to, share your feelings without over shadowing the other person.
4. Be relaxed and have a sense of humor.  The inclusion of humor in personal interaction is a natural and extremely effective method of breaking down barriers.  Be yourself, natural, open and friendly.  There is a time to be more serious, but humor draws souls together.
5. Smile – Never underestimate the power of a smile.  Smiling is a human emotion that can break down even the most formidable social barriers.  In his book, How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling, Frank Bettger encouraged his readers to smile for thirty days to prove the powerful effect of a smile on sales performance.  It works!  Do it!
6. Be honest and genuine.  Honesty is the foundation of trust and people buy from those people they trust.  The world has too many salespeople who have abused the trust of others.  There is no long-term sales success without honesty.  If you can’t be honest, do yourself and the rest of us a favor and favor and get out of the sales profession.
7. Call people buy their first name.  The majority of all people prefer to be addressed on a first name basis.  If you are uneasy calling someone by their first name, ask for their permission.  You will be amazed at the positive responses you will receive.  Your first name is the most important sound in the whole world.  Use first names and feel the warmth and acceptance of others.
8. Create an atmosphere of caring.  This principle has been demonstrated in the advertising of a major greeting card company:  “When you care enough to send the very best.”  People are drawn to those who demonstrate a sense of caring.  When you truly care about a prospect and their situation as much as they do, you have raised your level of relationship.  Caring is felt and appreciated by everyone.
9. Never talk down to people.  This behavior is unacceptable and demeaning.  Accept people for who and what they are.  Treat them with respect as a person and for the title and responsibilities they bear.  Talking down to people is an attempt to elevate you at the expense of someone else.  In the process of building relationships, you should always strive to elevate others.
10. Look for ways to help others.  There is no stronger bond in the world than that created through helping others.  When we help someone, that act or deed does not just become a memory; its effect is burned into the soul.  As salespeople, your motto should be to find ways to help others achieve their objectives through the sales of your products and services.  If your products are not the solution, look for other ways to help them.